benign

(bĭ-nīn')
adj.

1. Of a kind and gentle disposition.
2. Showing gentleness and mildness. See synonyms at kind¹.
3. Tending to exert a beneficial influence; favorable: a policy with benign consequences for the economy. See synonyms at favorable.
4. Having little or no detrimental effect; harmless: a chemical additive that is environmentally benign.
5. Medicine. Of no danger to health; not recurrent or progressive; not malignant: a benign tumor.

[Middle English benigne, from Old French, from Latin benignus.]

benignly be·nign'ly adv.

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is principally used in medicine to mean 'not life- threatening'; its opposite is malignant. The word benignant, meaning 'kindly' or 'beneficial', has largely fallen out of use.

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adjective

1. Characterized by kindness and concern for others: altruistic, beneficent, benevolent, benignant, good, goodhearted, kind, kindhearted, kindly. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, kind/cruel.
2. Indicative of future success or full of promise: auspicious, bright, brilliant, fair, favorable, fortunate, good, propitious. See luck/misfortune/chance.

adj

Definition: advantageous
Antonyms: disadvantageous, harmful, hurtful

adj

Definition: kindly
Antonyms: hateful, hostile, hurtful, injurious, malignant, unkind

adj

Definition: mild, esp. describing weather
Antonyms: bad, severe

adj

Definition: not cancerous
Antonyms: cancerous, malignant

Applied to a condition, such as a tumour, that is not malignant or seriously harmful.

(bi-neyen)

A descriptive term for conditions that present no danger to life or well-being. Benign is the opposite of malignant.

The term benign is used when describing tumors or growths that do not threaten the health of an individual.

IN BRIEF: Pleasant and kind.

The policeman smiled benignly at the children as they ran by.

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describing a neoplasm that is harmless, localized, and nonmetastasizing, although it may physically impede the function of a nerve or muscle.

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Not malignant; not recurrent; favorable for recovery.

• b. enzootic paresis — see porcine viral encephalomyelitis.
• b. fibrillators — horses with a history of poor performance in races which suffer an attack of atrial fibrillation during or immediately after a race which soon recovers spontaneously so that the abnormality often goes undetected.
• b. footrot — occurs under very wet conditions. Caused by Dichelobacter nodosus of low virulence. There is dermatitis of the interdigital skin and minimal underrunning of horn at the heel. See also interdigital dermatitis.

(bē-nīn′)
adj

Describing a neoplasm unable to metastasize.

For a list of words related to benign, see:

• Diagnostic Terminology - benign: (adj) consisting of localized mass of nonmalignant specialized cells within connective tissue that do not invade and destroy tissue or spread throughout body
• Helpful, Positive, Responsible, or Nice

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See words rhyming with "benign."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Benign.

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - venlig, mild

idioms:

• benign neglect    forsømmelse, der er bedre end overdrevet omsorg

Nederlands (Dutch)
zacht, mild, welwillend, goedaardig

Français (French)
adj. - bienveillant, affable, bienfaisant, salutaire, doux (un climat), (Méd) bénin

idioms:

• benign neglect    indifférence salutaire

Deutsch (German)
adj. - sanft, gütig

idioms:

• benign neglect    Mißachtung, die für jmdn. besser ist als ständige Aufmerksamkeit

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - καλοκάγαθος, πράος, ευμενής, (ιατρ.) καλοήθης

idioms:

• benign neglect    ευεργετική παραμέληση (που ευνοεί τον παραμελούμενο)

Italiano (Italian)
mite, benigno

idioms:

• benign neglect    negligenza perdonabile

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - bondoso, benigno (Med.)

idioms:

• benign neglect    não fazer algo bom para alguém ou alguma coisa para seu próprio benefício

Русский (Russian)
благотворный, добросердечный

idioms:

• benign neglect    снисходительное невнимание

Español (Spanish)
adj. - benigno, favorable

idioms:

• benign neglect    ignorar una situación embarazosa de la cual lo consideran responsable, ignorar un problema confiando en que se va a solucionar por sí solo

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - välvillig, godhjärtad, godartad, benign

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
仁慈的, 良性的, 亲切的, 有利的

idioms:

• benign neglect    善意的忽视

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 仁慈的, 良性的, 親切的, 有利的

idioms:

• benign neglect    善意的忽視

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 상냥한, 길조의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 親切な, 温和な, 良性の

idioms:

• benign neglect    慇懃無礼な無視

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) حميد, رؤوف, رحيم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮נדיב לב, נעים, נוח, שפיר, לא מסוכנת (מחלה)‬

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